Content introduction main body

Preparation: 
T his task may be suitable for advanced level learners who share the same mother tongue.
Find a short passage from a novel where at least one delexical word is used with a number of different meanings (e.g. get/got might appear in the same passage as: got lost, got a letter, got to go).
Procedure:
1. Split the class into smaller groups
2. Pre-teach some delexical verbs that are used with a number of different meanings. For instance:
take - take a shower, take a photo, take a chance
have - have a conversation, have an argument, have a rest
get - get lost, got to go
do - do my hair, do the cooking
make - make noise, make a promise, make a suggestion
go - go swimming, go for a walk
3. Assign a target word to each group (e.g. get or go)
4. Groups should find all occurrences of their target word, and analyse the meanings in context. They should note the various ways the word/s can be used 
5. Encourage learners to think about how each use in context represents a certain language register and has implications for meaning
6. Groups translate the expressions containing the target word/s into their first language. Learners should pay heed to the meaning in context, register etc.
7. Groups then re-translate their translated items back into English. They should keep as close as possible to the foreign language word/s. For example, the English expression ‘I don’t get it’ may be translated into Serbian as ‘ne kapiram’. This re-translates into English as ‘I have understood’.
8. Feedback stage - groups share their insights with other groups
Comments on the use of novels in the classroom
To my huge regret, I haven’t used literature in the language classroom and with private students online very much over the past fifteen years.
Novels offer enormous scope, ranging from being deeply culture specific to being universal.
Nevertheless, it’s a novel’s ability to raise awareness of cultural identities that is its most alluring feature. 
As Mishan states (p.112): “Literature is, after all, the most intense and intrinsically the most dense representation of the culture and the people who comprise it.”
Task 2 

Preparation: 
This task suits pre-intermediate and intermediate level learners.
Cut out a number of striking or shocking photographs from newspapers.
The advantages of using authentic materials
Here’s a summary of the main advantages of using authentic materials:
Authentic materials for non-linear syllabi - There’s little evidence of a fixed acquisition order when it comes to authentic materials. Many teachers and scholars might repudiate the use of authentic texts on this basis. However, I believe that language acquisition does not occur in a magical linear fashion
Integrative motivation - Genuine materials from the target culture provide learners with a crucial ‘stepping stone’ towards their own understanding of, and adaptation to, that culture
Confidence levels rise when learners are treated as ‘native speakers’ - Distributing authentic materials in class might cause students to believe they are being treated as ‘native speakers’. Therefore, their confidence levels rise and their overall learning experience is enhanced
Enhanced engagement - Engagement in a text assumes a certain degree of empathy. Indeed, authentic materials tend to have great personal significance for learners. Hence, a powerful argument in favour of utilising authentic materials is the increased levels of engagement they tend to foster
Accessibility to low level learners - Low level learners can approach genres such as the television news bulletin with confidence.

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Coxhead, A. A new Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34 (2): 213-238.

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